Foreign affairs

Official CIA representatives in Russia have diplomatic status, former FSB chief says

Official representatives of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in Russia are working for the Embassy and have a diplomatic status, Russian MP and former head of the Federal Security Service Nikolai Kovalev told TASS.

Earlier, a number of countries claimed that some of the Russian diplomats being expelled were secret service officers. The chief of Russia’s foreign intelligence service SVR, Sergey Naryshkin, confirmed that to a number of mass media, adding that the officers in question worked abroad quite officially.

"Certainly [official CIA representatives have a diplomatic status]," said Kovalev, who is a member of the State Duma (lower house) committee for security and countering corruption.

"They are working as diplomats, they introduce themselves officially, this is common practice of both sides," he noted.

Earlier, US Ambassador to Russia Jon Huntsman said in an interview with TASS that 60 Russian diplomats were expelled from the US due to the need to protect Americans from espionage. A large number of Russian intelligence officers were working in the US and Canada, he said.

Joint operations 

Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service and the CIA have many times carried out joint operations coordinated by their official representatives, Kovalev has pointed out. 

A number of countries said earlier that there were intelligence officers among expelled Russian diplomats. SVR head Sergei Naryshkin confirmed the fact to the media, pointing out that the officers had official status.